Last Modified: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 10:45 a.m.

Young, 26, of Galliano is on trial in the stabbing death of Robert LeCompte, 39, of Houma. He faces life in prison if convicted on the first-degree murder charge.

Darkus Baker, 31, who now lives in New Orleans, said Young had left Christmas Eve in her car and told her he was going Christmas shopping. He arrived home before sunup the next day and confessed to stabbing and killing LeCompte with a screwdriver.

In tearful testimony later Wednesday, Baker said Young told her LeCompte's last words: “Why? Why? Why me? I thought I was your friend.”

LeCompte was found dead at The Drama Club, 126 N. Hollywood Road, a bar that caters to a largely gay clientele where he worked as a manager.

A coroner's official said Wednesday he believes the killer drove a screwdriver into LeCompte's body about 13 times.

Arriving home in her car that Christmas Day, Young called his girlfriend on her cell phone and asked her to come outside their Galliano house, Baker said in court.

Young told her he stabbed LeCompte with a screwdriver, she said. During testimony, Baker was able to describe LeCompte's keychain, which she said Young had showed her after the murder.

Young was a former employee of The Drama Club, and witnesses testified Tuesday that he was the last person in the nightclub before LeCompte was found dead.

Baker said Wednesday that Young showed her stacks of cash the day of the murder and told he had just killed someone “so we could be together and we could be a family.”

Young had just quit his job that month; Baker said he had not told her that.

Baker said the money was wrapped in Capital One bands. The Drama Club's owner testified he had wrapped video poker money found missing after the slaying with the same bank bands.

Outside their home, Young also handed Baker a plastic bag and told her not to open it.

Baker said she did not believe Young had killed anyone.

“I thought it was one of his excuses for cheating on me,” and she thought the bag contained evidence of his unfaithfulness, she said. She had been unable to reach him all afternoon and night the day before.

However, after a particularly brutal argument three months later, in which Young had dragged her by her hair through their street, Baker said she decided to open the bag as she looked for evidence that he had been cheating on her.

Inside, she said, she found a bloody shirt with The Drama Club logo on it. She called the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office the next day.

“I already knew he did it,” Detective Terry Daigre said on his recorded phone conversation with Baker, was played in court Wednesday. “I just couldn't prove it.”

Investigators have said that, on the day of the murder, they found a blood-soaked note on LeCompte's body which says, “You gave me AIDS.” One witness said LeCompte had confided in him that he had sex with Young in the past. For the first time during the trial, Young's HIV status was addressed when Baker took the stand.

Young tested negative for HIV while awaiting trial in the Terrebonne Parish jail, she said.

However, prosecutors argued Tuesday that robbery was the motive for the killing because bags of cash were reported missing from the bar after LeCompte was found dead.

Terrebonne Assistant District Attorney Jason Dagate hinted during his opening statement that the note might have been Young's attempt to throw detectives off track.

Attorneys had to comb through a lot of things Baker had said over the past three years because after calling detectives, she later retracted her statement, giving Young's defense attorneys a different story and pinning the murder on an acquaintance.

However, in testimony Wednesday, Baker retracted her retraction and said she only tried to change her story because she didn't want Young, father of their 3-year-old daughter, to go to prison.

“He could make me say or do anything he wanted,” Baker said. “That's how much I loved him.”

She had pinned the murder on a man named Jeremiah Washington, who Young knew and Baker knew of. She told Young's attorneys that she saw Washington put the bag in her car but decided to tell detectives that Young brought it home.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes asked Baker Wednesday what made her “see the light” and implicate Young in the murder.

It was through counseling from her church and the battered women's shelter where she now lives, Baker replied.

In addition to dragging her through the street, Young had also slid the blunt end of a knife across her neck and held a gun to her head, threatening to kill her, during their relationship, Baker testified.

Young's defense attorney, Kathryn Lirette, said during opening arguments Tuesday that authorities have charged the wrong man in LeCompte's murder.

She said Baker could have learned details about what allegedly happened in the slaying almost anywhere. Lirette noted that a Terrebonne sheriff's deputy had posted about the murder on Facebook, which was how LeCompte's loved ones learned of his death.

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.

<p>Jorell Young arrived home on Christmas Day 2009 and told his girlfriend he had killed his former roommate at a Houma bar early that morning, she testified Wednesday.</p><p>Young, 26, of Galliano is on trial in the stabbing death of Robert LeCompte, 39, of Houma. He faces life in prison if convicted on the first-degree murder charge.</p><p>Darkus Baker, 31, who now lives in New Orleans, said Young had left Christmas Eve in her car and told her he was going Christmas shopping. He arrived home before sunup the next day and confessed to stabbing and killing LeCompte with a screwdriver.</p><p>In tearful testimony later Wednesday, Baker said Young told her LeCompte's last words: “Why? Why? Why me? I thought I was your friend.”</p><p>LeCompte was found dead at The Drama Club, 126 N. Hollywood Road, a bar that caters to a largely gay clientele where he worked as a manager.</p><p>A coroner's official said Wednesday he believes the killer drove a screwdriver into LeCompte's body about 13 times.</p><p>Arriving home in her car that Christmas Day, Young called his girlfriend on her cell phone and asked her to come outside their Galliano house, Baker said in court.</p><p>Young told her he stabbed LeCompte with a screwdriver, she said. During testimony, Baker was able to describe LeCompte's keychain, which she said Young had showed her after the murder.</p><p>Young was a former employee of The Drama Club, and witnesses testified Tuesday that he was the last person in the nightclub before LeCompte was found dead. </p><p>Baker said Wednesday that Young showed her stacks of cash the day of the murder and told he had just killed someone “so we could be together and we could be a family.”</p><p>Young had just quit his job that month; Baker said he had not told her that.</p><p>Baker said the money was wrapped in Capital One bands. The Drama Club's owner testified he had wrapped video poker money found missing after the slaying with the same bank bands.</p><p>Outside their home, Young also handed Baker a plastic bag and told her not to open it.</p><p>Baker said she did not believe Young had killed anyone.</p><p>“I thought it was one of his excuses for cheating on me,” and she thought the bag contained evidence of his unfaithfulness, she said. She had been unable to reach him all afternoon and night the day before.</p><p>However, after a particularly brutal argument three months later, in which Young had dragged her by her hair through their street, Baker said she decided to open the bag as she looked for evidence that he had been cheating on her.</p><p>Inside, she said, she found a bloody shirt with The Drama Club logo on it. She called the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office the next day.</p><p>“I already knew he did it,” Detective Terry Daigre said on his recorded phone conversation with Baker, was played in court Wednesday. “I just couldn't prove it.”</p><p>Investigators have said that, on the day of the murder, they found a blood-soaked note on LeCompte's body which says, “You gave me AIDS.” One witness said LeCompte had confided in him that he had sex with Young in the past. For the first time during the trial, Young's HIV status was addressed when Baker took the stand.</p><p>Young tested negative for HIV while awaiting trial in the Terrebonne Parish jail, she said.</p><p>However, prosecutors argued Tuesday that robbery was the motive for the killing because bags of cash were reported missing from the bar after LeCompte was found dead.</p><p>Terrebonne Assistant District Attorney Jason Dagate hinted during his opening statement that the note might have been Young's attempt to throw detectives off track.</p><p>Attorneys had to comb through a lot of things Baker had said over the past three years because after calling detectives, she later retracted her statement, giving Young's defense attorneys a different story and pinning the murder on an acquaintance.</p><p>However, in testimony Wednesday, Baker retracted her retraction and said she only tried to change her story because she didn't want Young, father of their 3-year-old daughter, to go to prison.</p><p>“He could make me say or do anything he wanted,” Baker said. “That's how much I loved him.”</p><p>She had pinned the murder on a man named Jeremiah Washington, who Young knew and Baker knew of. She told Young's attorneys that she saw Washington put the bag in her car but decided to tell detectives that Young brought it home.</p><p>Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes asked Baker Wednesday what made her “see the light” and implicate Young in the murder.</p><p>It was through counseling from her church and the battered women's shelter where she now lives, Baker replied.</p><p>In addition to dragging her through the street, Young had also slid the blunt end of a knife across her neck and held a gun to her head, threatening to kill her, during their relationship, Baker testified.</p><p>Young's defense attorney, Kathryn Lirette, said during opening arguments Tuesday that authorities have charged the wrong man in LeCompte's murder.</p><p>She said Baker could have learned details about what allegedly happened in the slaying almost anywhere. Lirette noted that a Terrebonne sheriff's deputy had posted about the murder on Facebook, which was how LeCompte's loved ones learned of his death.</p><p>Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.</p>